AB 2553: Housing development: major transit stops: vehicular traffic impact fees.

Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.

CEQA exempts from its requirements residential projects on infill sites and transit priority projects that meet certain requirements, including a requirement that the projects are located within ¹/₂ mile of a major transit stop. CEQA defines major transit stop to include, among other locations, the intersection of 2 or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.

This bill would revise the definition of major transit stop to increase the frequency of service interval to 20 minutes.

Existing law, the Mitigation Fee Act, imposes various requirements with respect to the establishment, increase, or imposition of a fee by a local agency as a condition of approval of a development project. Existing law requires a local agency that imposes a fee on a housing development for the purpose of mitigating vehicular traffic impacts to set the rate for the fee to reflect a lower rate of automobile trip generation if the housing development satisfies specified characteristics, including that the housing development is located within ¹/₂ mile of a transit station, as specified. Existing law defines transit station for these purposes to mean a rail or light-rail station, ferry terminal, bus hub, or bus transfer station, including planned transit stations whose construction is programmed to be completed prior to the scheduled completion and occupancy of the housing development.

This bill would instead require the housing development to be located within a transit priority area and the major transit stop, if planned, is programmed to be completed before or within one year from the scheduled completion and occupancy of the housing development. The bill would define major transit stop for these purposes to mean a site containing an existing rail or bus rapid transit station, a ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service, the intersection of 2 or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 20 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods, or other major transit stops that are included in the applicable regional transportation plan.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 66005.1 of the Government Code proposed by AB 3177 to be operative only if this bill and AB 3177 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.